Allow me to indulge myself for a moment...

Sorry in advance, this isn't my "typical" post. But we recently had a rather momentous moment in toddlerhood, and I want to document it.

The first haircut.

I've been through this with my boys twice before. The first time, with "Leader of the Fab Five", I went equipped with video camera, picture camera, and munchkins from Dunkin Donuts. The munchkins didn't last nearly long enough, and "Leader of the Fab Five" cared less about the munchkins and more about the sharp instrument dangerously close to his ear. The final moments of his haircut were spent with me holding his head still and him screaming. Not exactly what I'd envisioned.

With "Mr. Trouble" I went equipped with lollipops. However, he fell asleep on the way to his first haircut, and miraculously slept through the entire thing. I didn't get any pictures since I was the one holding him, but at least it went down without any screaming.

Considering the activity level of CamCam, and his zero tolerance to anything he doesn't want to do, I have been dreading taking him for his first haircut. The time had come though- my sister's wedding was coming up and I didn't want CamCam in all the pictures with his girly locks.

Then my cousin told me about this "kids only" salon called Snip-its. I figured it was worth a shot. I walked into the place with my three little boys, planning to get "Mr. Trouble" a haircut, since he was going to be the ring-bearer, and planning to see how it went with CamCam. Maybe we'd get one, maybe we'd leave with the start of one.

I was blown away when I walked in. This place was definitely created with kids in mind. I let "Mr. Trouble" go first, figuring CamCam could watch and see that it wasn't a big deal, but instead CamCam walked all over the place playing with their toys.

Then it was his turn. He jumped right up into the kid-sized seat. He allowed the hairdresser to put the apron around him. He watched a cartoon on the t.v. placed in front of him.

He held still.

I couldn't believe it! When he lost interest in the cartoon, the hairdresser handed him a jar of bubbles to play with. When he lost interest in the bubbles, she handed him animal crackers one at a time. When he decided that he wanted to comb his own hair instead of having her do it, she handed him an extra comb and encouraged him to brush the front of his hair. She let him play with her spray bottle and didn't care when he sprayed it. And she wisely took it away when he started to suck on it to get the water out.

He stayed in place and was still for the entire haircut. No screaming. No fits.

And what about the fact that he was having so much fun in the chair, he probably wouldn't want to get down when it was over? No problem, they had that covered too. He was handed a special ticket to wear around his wrist when he entered, and when the haircut was over he got a lollipop, and then the hairdresser told him to go over to the machine at the front of the store to put his ticket in and he would get a prize.

This is the best place ever.

Bubbles and cartoons, it doesn't get much better then this.

They grow up in an instant when they get their first haircut.

I wanted a shot of him and his brother together, but they both thought I wanted the stickers.